{"id":213520,"date":"2020-02-15T19:20:48","date_gmt":"2020-02-15T19:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=213520"},"modified":"2023-01-22T11:08:23","modified_gmt":"2023-01-22T10:08:23","slug":"ambassador-ken-blackwell-iranian-peoples-vote-is-for-regime-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-a-world\/ambassador-ken-blackwell-iranian-peoples-vote-is-for-regime-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Ambassador Ken Blackwell – Iranian People’s Vote Is for Regime Change"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ken Blackwell article in TownHall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ambassador Ken Blackwell, a former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, in an article published on\u00a0TownHall<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Saturday,\u00a0highlighted the Iranian people\u2019s\u00a0desire for regime change, as the regime\u2019s Parliamentary Elections farce draws closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Iranian regime will hold its so-called\u00a0parliam<\/a>entary elections\u00a0<\/a>next Friday amidst mounting crises. The\u00a0\u2018elections\u2019\u00a0this year unfold in a radically different setting, with growing popular discontent and uprisings exacerbating an already dire situation for the regime. Braving systematic suppression and human rights, people in Iran usually vote on the streets. In their massive protests in November, they voted to change the regime in its entirety,\u201d wrote Ambassador Blackwell.<\/p>\n

Referring to\u00a0the regime\u2019s ruling system and its\u00a0fundamental contradiction to the democratic\u00a0procedures, Ambassador Blackwell wrote: \u201cElections in one of the most repressive states in the world are nothing but a farce. The regime has effectively monopolized power through the concept of\u00a0velayat-e faqih (absolute clerical rule). The supreme leader, currently Ali Khamenei, is the ultimate tyrant on all state matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAccording to Article 90 of the theocracy’s Constitution, a watchdog body called the Guardian Council is responsible for the supervision of all elections. The 12 members of this body are directly and indirectly handpicked by the supreme leader,\u201d\u00a0he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll candidates are vetted based on the Guardian Council’s assessment of their belief and adherence to the regime and “loyalty to the principle of\u00a0velayat-e faqih (absolute clerical rule),” making the Parliament a forum to further plunder the national wealth and abuse the political rights of the Iranian people,\u201d read the article.<\/p>\n

While referring\u00a0to the recent purge of the rival faction\u2019s candidates by the Guardian Council\u00a0at the behest of the regime\u2019s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, Ambassador Blackwell wrote: \u201cTellingly, the Guardian Council has disqualified more than 55% of candidates so far, including 90 sitting members of the current parliament, some of whom were repeatedly vetted by the Guardian Council for previous terms.”<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the disqualified candidates belong to Khamenei’s rivals. Some projections indicate that Khamenei loyalists are poised to control parliament with over 260 out of the 290 seats. This is because Khamenei is trying to close ranks. Why?\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince 2017, popular protests in Iran have spread to every social class and every major urban and rural center. These protests have culminated in four major nationwide uprisings, with the most recent ones in November 2019 and January 2020. During the November uprising, over 1,500 Iranians were viciously gunned down by the mullahs for calling for the overthrow of the regime,\u201d wrote Ambassador Blackwell,\u00a0referring to the regime\u2019s fear of\u00a0a possible protest, such as the nationwide Iran protests in November, during\u00a0which\u00a0the\u00a0regime massacred over 1500 people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe February\u00a0\u2018elections\u2019\u00a0could not have come at a worse time for the regime. Khamenei is also reeling from an irreparable blow with the elimination of his extraterritorial terrorist-in-chief, Qassem Soleimani,\u201d\u00a0he added.<\/p>\n

Referring to the\u00a0regime\u2019s regional, political, economic and more importantly social crises and the leading role played by the\u00a0People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK)<\/a>\u00a0and its \u201cResistance Units,\u201d\u00a0Ambassador Blackwell wrote: \u201cMass protests have also spread to Iraq and Lebanon, dealing another heavy blow to the regime’s regional designs. The free fall of the Iranian economy, coupled with the rise in the activities of\u00a0Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK)<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Resistance Units in dozens of cities in Iran, about which officials have expressed increasing concern, as well as the U.S. policy of maximum pressure have made the situation even more dire for Khamenei.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order to ward off the threat of being overthrown, Khamenei has decided to close ranks. A weakened regime would be hard-pressed to withstand internal schisms, so it needs to be centered around loyalists to Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This would indicate that the regime’s behavior will not change,\u201d he\u00a0added.<\/p>\n

While referring to the Iranian people\u2019s desire for regime change,\u00a0Ambassador Blackwell wrote: \u201cThe Iranian people have chosen to opt-out. Most tellingly, a semi-official poll on social media showed that 82 percent of people will vehemently boycott the election. The poll was immediately removed from its initial platform. The Iranian people have rejected both regime factions (\u2018hardliners\u2019\u00a0and\u00a0\u2018reformists\u2019).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese factions are all the same when it comes to the regime’s core policies and survival strategies. Khamenei practically begged people to vote, saying,\u00a0\u2018Some people may not like me, but they should cast a vote if they like Iran.\u2019\u00a0Regime president Hassan Rouhani, said, “We should not stay away from the ballot box because of this or that act,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of Iran cast their vote for regime change during the uprising in November 2019 and January 2020. With their chants of \u201cdeath to Khamenei, death to the dictator, death to the principle of the\u00a0velayat-e faqih, death to the oppressor, be it the Shah or the leader,\u201d the Iranian people demonstrated that they want a future devoid of Shah (monarchy) and the mullahs. They want a secular republic based on democracy and people\u2019s sovereignty,\u201d read the article.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Blackwell also highlighted\u00a0the call by\u00a0Mrs.\u00a0Maryam\u00a0Rajavi<\/a>, president-elect of\u00a0the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)<\/a>,\u00a0to boycott\u00a0the\u00a0regime\u2019s elections and wrote:\u00a0\u201cMaryam Rajavi<\/a>, President-elect of the main opposition\u00a0National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)<\/a>, has said boycotting this charade is a patriotic duty and the nation\u2019s bond with the martyrs of the Iranian people, especially the 1,500 martyrs of the November uprising.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Many elections, and all of the sham elections over the past forty years have been marred by vote rigging and multiplying the results. But, the core issue behind such fraudulent and sham elections is to hide the fact that the people's sovereignty has been stolen. #Iran<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ShgmjeKhd1<\/a><\/p>\n

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) February 11, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n